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How to conjugate Haber in Spanish

haber to have (helper verb) Irregular Verb Top 100

At a glance: Haber (to have (helper verb)) is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. In the present tense: he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han. As the primary auxiliary verb in Spanish, haber is used to form all compound tenses.

Past participle: habido had
Gerund: habiendo having

Introduction
Indicative tenses of Haber
Subjunctive tenses of Haber
Imperative tenses of Haber
- Haber in the Imperative Affirmative
- Haber in the Imperative Negative
Verbs that follow the same patterns
Example sentences and usage
Frequently asked questions
Downloadable cheat sheet (PDF)
Practise Haber conjugations (free mobile app)

Introduction

Haber is the Spanish verb meaning "to have". It is a very unique verb in that it is used in compound tenses as an auxiliary, meaning that is comes before the main verb in the sentence and is used to set the main verbs' tense or mood. For example: He estado (I have been), hemos comido (we have eaten). It is also very commonly used as an impersonal verb, to say "there is / there are". For example: Hay mucho chocolate en el armario. (There is a lot of chocolate in the press).

Haber conjugation tables as a PDF

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Indicative tenses of Haber

Haber in the Indicative Present

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the indicative present is used to form the "indicative present perfect" tense. For example, "he escrito la carta", meaning "I have written the letter".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	he	I have
Tú	has	you have
Ella / Él / Usted	ha	s/he has
Nosotras / Nosotros	hemos	we have
Vosotras / Vosotros	habéis	you (plural) have
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	han	they have

How it’s built: Yo, tú, ella/él, nosotros and ellas/ellos are irregular (he, has, ha, hemos, han); vosotros is regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Indicative Preterite

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hube	I had
Tú	hubiste	you had
Ella / Él / Usted	hubo	s/he had
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubimos	we had
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubisteis	you (plural) had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieron	they had

How it’s built: Irregular stem hub- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Indicative Imperfect

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the indicative imperfect is used to form the "indicative past perfect" tense. For example, "había escrito la carta", meaning "I had written the letter".

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	había	I had
Tú	habías	you had
Ella / Él / Usted	había	s/he had
Nosotras / Nosotros	habíamos	we had
Vosotras / Vosotros	habíais	you (plural) had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habían	they had

How it’s built: Regular: stem hab- plus the -er endings.

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Haber in the Indicative Present Continuous

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense.

Haber in the Indicative Informal Future

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense.

Haber in the Indicative Future

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the indicative future is used to form the "indicative future perfect" tense. For example, "habré escrito la carta", meaning "I will have written the letter".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habré	I will have
Tú	habrás	you will have
Ella / Él / Usted	habrá	s/he will have
Nosotras / Nosotros	habremos	we will have
Vosotras / Vosotros	habréis	you (plural) will have
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habrán	they will have

How it’s built: Irregular stem habr- instead of haber, plus the future endings.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Indicative Conditional

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the indicative conditional is used to form the "indicative conditional perfect" tense. For example, "habría escrito la carta", meaning "I would have written the letter".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	habría	I would have
Tú	habrías	you would have
Ella / Él / Usted	habría	s/he would have
Nosotras / Nosotros	habríamos	we would have
Vosotras / Vosotros	habríais	you (plural) would have
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	habrían	they would have

How it’s built: Irregular stem habr- instead of haber, plus the conditional endings.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Indicative Present Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I have had
Tú	-	you have had
Ella / Él / Usted	ha habido	s/he has had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we have had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) have had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they have had

How it’s built: Haber in the present (ha) plus the past participle habido.

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Haber in the Indicative Past Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I had had
Tú	-	you had had
Ella / Él / Usted	había habido	s/he had had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we had had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) had had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they had had

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había) plus the past participle habido.

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Haber in the Indicative Future Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I will have had
Tú	-	you will have had
Ella / Él / Usted	habrá habido	s/he will have had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we will have had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) will have had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they will have had

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habrá) plus the past participle habido.

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Haber in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I would have had
Tú	-	you would have had
Ella / Él / Usted	habría habido	s/he would have had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we would have had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) would have had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they would have had

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría) plus the past participle habido.

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Subjunctive tenses of Haber

Haber in the Subjunctive Present

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the subjunctive present is used to form the "subjunctive present perfect" tense. For example, "haya escrito la carta", meaning "I have written the letter".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	haya	I have
Tú	hayas	you have
Ella / Él / Usted	haya	s/he has
Nosotras / Nosotros	hayamos	we have
Vosotras / Vosotros	hayáis	you (plural) have
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hayan	they have

How it’s built: Irregular in every form: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Subjunctive Imperfect

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the subjunctive imperfect is used to form the "subjunctive past perfect" tense. For example, "hubiera escrito la carta", meaning "I had written the letter".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiera	I had
Tú	hubieras	you had
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiera	s/he had
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubiéramos	we had
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubierais	you (plural) had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieran	they had

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, hubieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (hubiéramos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Subjunctive Future

As an auxiliary verb, haber in the subjunctive future is used to form the "subjunctive future perfect" tense. For example, "hubiere escrito la carta", meaning "I will have written the letter".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	hubiere	I will have
Tú	hubieres	you will have
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiere	s/he will have
Nosotras / Nosotros	hubiéremos	we will have
Vosotras / Vosotros	hubiereis	you (plural) will have
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hubieren	they will have

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, hubieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (hubiéremos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I have had
Tú	-	you have had
Ella / Él / Usted	haya habido	s/he has had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we have had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) have had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they have had

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya) plus the past participle habido.

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Haber in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I had had
Tú	-	you had had
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiera habido	s/he had had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we had had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) had had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they had had

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera) plus the past participle habido.

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Haber in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	I will have had
Tú	-	you will have had
Ella / Él / Usted	hubiere habido	s/he will have had
Nosotras / Nosotros	-	we will have had
Vosotras / Vosotros	-	you (plural) will have had
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	-	they will have had

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere) plus the past participle habido.

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Imperative tenses of Haber

Haber in the Imperative Affirmative

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	he	(to you) have!
Ella / Él / Usted	haya	(to you formal) have!
Nosotras / Nosotros	hayamos	let's have!
Vosotras / Vosotros	habed	(to you plural) have!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	hayan	(to you plural formal) have!

How it’s built: Tú is irregular (he); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (haya, hayamos, hayan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (habed).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Haber in the Imperative Negative

Because haber is an auxiliary verb used to form compound conjugations, it is not used in this tense. We just show the conjugations below for reference.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

Pronoun	Spanish	English
Yo	-	-
Tú	no hayas	(to you) don't have!
Ella / Él / Usted	no haya	(to you formal) don't have!
Nosotras / Nosotros	no hayamos	let's not have!
Vosotras / Vosotros	no hayáis	(to you plural) don't have!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes	no hayan	(to you plural formal) don't have!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no hayas, no haya, no hayamos, no hayáis, no hayan.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Example sentences and usage

Es la cosa más estúpida que he dicho nunca. That's the stupidest thing I've ever said.
Siempre me he preguntado cómo será tener hermanos. I've always wondered what it'd be like to have siblings.
"¿Qué habrá en la cueva? Tengo curiosidad." - "No tengo ni idea." "What's going on in the cave? I'm curious." - "I have no idea."
El coste de la vida ha aumentado drásticamente. The cost of life increased drastically.
¿Has terminado?" "No, de hecho ni siquiera he empezado. Have you finished?" "On the contrary, I have not even begun yet.
¿Qué ha pasado? Hay agua por todo el apartamento. What happened? There's water all over the apartment.
El tiempo ha pasado rapidísimo. Time has passed very fast.
Dime qué ha pasado. Tell me what happened.

Frequently asked questions about Haber

Is haber a regular or irregular verb?

Haber is an irregular Spanish verb. In the present tense: yo, tú, ella/él, nosotros and ellas/ellos are irregular (he, has, ha, hemos, han); vosotros is regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (hube), future (habré), conditional (habría) and subjunctive.

How do you conjugate haber in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), haber is conjugated as: yo he, tú has, él/ella/usted ha, nosotros hemos, vosotros habéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes han. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.

How do you conjugate haber in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), haber is conjugated as: yo hube, tú hubiste, él/ella/usted hubo, nosotros hubimos, vosotros hubisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes hubieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate haber in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), haber is conjugated as: yo había, tú habías, él/ella/usted había, nosotros habíamos, vosotros habíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes habían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate haber in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), haber is conjugated as: yo habré, tú habrás, él/ella/usted habrá, nosotros habremos, vosotros habréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes habrán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate haber in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), haber is conjugated as: yo haya, tú hayas, él/ella/usted haya, nosotros hayamos, vosotros hayáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes hayan. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.

What are some common example sentences using haber?

Here are everyday sentences using haber: Es la cosa más estúpida que he dicho nunca. (That's the stupidest thing I've ever said.) Siempre me he preguntado cómo será tener hermanos. (I've always wondered what it'd be like to have siblings.) "¿Qué habrá en la cueva? Tengo curiosidad." - "No tengo ni idea." ("What's going on in the cave? I'm curious." - "I have no idea.") El coste de la vida ha aumentado drásticamente. (The cost of life increased drastically.) ¿Has terminado?" "No, de hecho ni siquiera he empezado. (Have you finished?" "On the contrary, I have not even begun yet.)

Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Haber Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

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How to conjugate Haber in Spanish

Table of contents

Introduction